Town News Briefing

PORTLAND -- A worker was injured Thursday when he fell from a steel beam atop a marine showroom being built at a riverfront boatyard, police said.

The unidentified employee of Advanced Welding LLC of Branford was working at the site around 2:30 p.m. when he apparently slipped and fell about 30 feet to the dirt floor of the unfinished metal structure at Portland Boat Works, 1 Grove St., on the shore of the Connecticut River, police said.

The man, who is about 40, struck a motorized crane during the fall. He suffered a broken right leg, deep head cuts and internal injuries, Sgt. Scott Cunningham said.

Police said and witnesses said the man was conscious and talking when he was taken by Life Star helicopter to Hartford Hospital. He is expected to recover, police said.

HARTFORD

Programs To Assist

Fund-Raising

Nonprofit and philanthropic organizations seeking new ways to secure money are being offered a series of programs by the Hartford Public Library starting Saturdayfrom 1 to 5 p.m.

The first installment of this six-part series begins with ``Hitting Your Mark With Funders,'' geared specifically to help grant seekers with their fund-raising campaigns. Other workshops are being conducted throughout March and ending in April.

The series is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and can be made by calling 860-695-6295. All workshops will be held in the library's Learning Lab.

HARTFORD

North Indian Dancer

Slated For Performance

Nighat Chaudhry, a dancer of Kathak, a north Indian classical dance, will perform Saturday at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave., Hartford, at 7:30 p.m.

Chaudhry has danced all over the world and also was director of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

Tickets are $20 for seniors, Charter Oak and Let's Go members; $25 for nonmembers and $5 for students. For more information on the event, call 860-249-1207.

SOUTHINGTON

Victorian Valentines

Planned For Display

SOUTHINGTON -- Victorian Valentine cards dating from the 1850s to the 1890s received by Barnes and Bradley family members will be on display at the Bradley H. Barnes Museum during February.

The cards will be displayed at the museum, 85 N. Main St., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. On Thursdays, the cards will be on display from 1 to 7 p.m. and on the first and last Saturday of the month, from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact museum curator Marie Secondo at 860-628-5426.

MIDDLETOWN

Bloomfield Man Held

On Drug Charges

MIDDLETOWN -- A Bloomfield man was arrested on drug-possession charges Thursday after he was found asleep in a car on Miller Street.

Brandon Lineo Freeman, 23, of 1194 Blue Hills Ave., was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine within 1,500 feet of a school zone, and possession of cocaine with intent to sell, a police report said. While talking to Freeman, police officers noticed suspicious materials in his car and decided to search the vehicle, the report said.

Freeman was being held at Hartford Correctional Center late Thursday, with bail set at $50,000. He is scheduled to appear Feb. 12 in Superior Court in Middletown.

Freeman's criminal record includes convictions in 1998 for larceny and resisting arrest, burglary and larceny in 2001, and drunken and reckless driving in 2003, arrest records said.

MIDDLETOWN

On-Street Parking Ban

In Effect Today

MIDDLETOWN -- The city has banned on-street parking effective at 6 a.m. today because of the impending snowstorm.

Off-street parking is available at the following municipal parking lots: the corner of Washington and Broad streets; the corner of Grand and Main streets; the Ferry Street lot, which is across from the Russell Library and behind the former Bacon Brother Building; and the Milili-Columbus Plaza lot, which is behind the Main Street Market off Washington Street.

Vehicles parked on city streets must be removed by 6 a.m. or risk being towed at owners' expense. Towed vehicles may be claimed by calling Middletown police at 860-347-6941.